Top ten Unique Places in the World

The Earth is a miraculous place and with the advent of technology, places that were remote and hidden have been finding their way into the eyes of the world. Traveling isn’t always a possibility for everyone; the internet gives a picture view into the places we can’t physically visit, and opens up the wonders of our planet. This list looks at some of the most unique areas around the world. The list includes natural areas and those created by humans. They are listed in the order I found and researched them, and are by no means diminished by their order on the list.
10:Pamukkale
Turkey

Pamukkale means cotton castle, and has also been called the white castle because of the vast whiteness caused by the high concentration of calcite in the water. Travertine sedimentary deposits have created the white terraces, petrified waterfalls and mineral forests that make up the landscape. The 17 hot springs are heated by an underground volcano. The beautiful area of Pamukkale, Turkey, has been used as a healing spa for thousands of years. The healing properties of the area drew people from all over, and the Romans built the ancient city of Hieropolis there. To help preserve the area, hotels and access roads were taken down and man-made pools were created to help in keeping the natural beauty of Pamukkale.

9:Nine Hells of Beppu

Japan

Beppu is home to over 2,800 hot springs and is found on the island of Kyushu. The Nine hells of Beppu are some of the more unique springs in the area. Hell 1 is Umi Jigoku meaning “sea hell”. The pool is a turquoise blue and is hot enough to boil eggs. Hell 2 is Oniishibou, meaning “shaven head hell” and gets its name from the boiling gray mud. The mud bubbles to the surface and resembles the shaved head of Buddhist monks. Hell 3 is Shiraike Jigoku meaning “white pond hell” and is filled with boiling white water caused by the high calcium concentrations. Hell 4 is Yama Jigoku meaning “mountain hell. Yama Jigoku was made by a mud volcano that spewed so much that it created a small mountain surrounded by small pools. Hell 5 is Kamada Jigoku “cooking pot hell”. This is a collection of boiling hot springs that are flanked by a red devil statue featured as the cook. Hell 6 is Oniyama Jigoku, meaning “devil’s mountain hell”. Oniyama is a very strong stream that can pull 1 ½ train cars, and is also home to about 100 hellish crocodiles. Hell 7 is Kinryu Jigoku “golden dragon hell”. This spring is featured with a steaming dragon. The steam is supplied by the steam of the spring and is directed out of the dragon’s nostrils. The dragon gives the illusion of flying when water spouts out at sunrise. Hell 8 is Chinoike Jigoku, meaning “blood pond hell”. Chinoike gets its name from the bright reddish colored water caused by ferrous (containing iron) minerals in the pond. Hell 9 is Tatsumaki Jigoku, meaning “spout hell”. Tatsumaki is a geyser that spouts every 30 minutes and has a temperature of about 105 degrees Celsius.

8:Sanqingshan

China

Sanqingshan has been considered a sacred place. Used by Taoists for meditation, and believed to lead to immortality it’s easy to see why. Sanqingshan is shrouded in mists for 200 days of the year. The mist gives an otherworldly quality to the mountain, along with thousands of streams that pour into pools, granite formations that resemble silhouettes of humans and animals, and strangely shaped pine trees. The pools and vegetation create unique environments that lure many exotic and rare birds and animals to make their home there. Sanqingshan is home to about 2,500 plant species. This is one of the only places to find the plants that are used in making traditional Chinese medicines.

7:The Plain of Jars

Lao

The Plain of Jars is one of the oldest archeological mysteries in Southeast Asia. Located on the plateau of Xieng Khouang, in the mountains of Indochina, there are about 90 different jars sites. Each site contains from 1 to 400 jars. It has been estimated that they were created 3,000 years ago, and are made of sandstone, limestone, granite, breccias and conglomerate, with the majority being made of sandstone. The tallest jar is about 9 ft. tall and all are made from their own individual slab of stone. At first glance they appear to be haphazardly placed, with some standing upright and others on their sides, pointing in different directions. Further studies have revealed that the jars are placed in positions that form the constellation patterns of the stars. There has been lots of speculation about the purpose of the jars – drinking glasses for a giant race, being used to collect rainwater, or as burial urns. Most of the jars are empty, but a few have been found with bodies or tools inside, or filled with miniature Buddha statues. Exploration is hard as the area is littered with unexploded bombs from the Secret War.

6:Spotted Lake of Osoyoos

British Columbia Canada

 

Spotted Lake of Osoyoos was sacred to the First Nations of Okanagan Valley Indians. Osoyoos means narrowing waters in the Okanagan language, and is used to describe what happens to the lake. The lake is a saline endorheic lake, which means it is a closed body of water with no outflow or inflow from other bodies of water. The lake has high concentrates of many different minerals, and contains some of the highest quantities of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulfates in the world. There are also eight other lesser minerals in the water, including small amounts of silver and titanium. The minerals in the lake are very beneficial, and were mined during WWI to use in the making of ammunition for the war. The minerals are what give the lake its uniqueness. During the summer, as the water evaporates, spots are formed which have different colors depending on which mineral is most present. The spots crystallize and form walkways of different colors. The colors can be white, yellow, blue or green. The lake is on private property and they allow very little public access.

5:Chamarel Falls and the Colored Earth
Mauritius

 

The Republic of Mauritius is an island nation located off the southeast coast of Africa. It is part of an archipelago formed from a now dormant undersea volcano. Mauritius is home to two natural wonders. The first is Chamarel Falls, which are three thin waterfalls that fall about 300 ft. down a plateau. They are the tallest waterfalls in Mauritius. Mauritius was once known only for its waterfalls, then in the 1960s, the colored dunes were discovered. The colored sand was created from clay made of lava cooling off at different times. The effect caused the 7 different colors of sand to form; they include red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow. The most unique aspect of the sands is the fact that if you take all the colors and mix them together, they will naturally separate and rejoin the correct color grouping that they belong to. How this happens is a mystery to scientists who have tried to solve the strange properties of the sand. Another mystery of the sand is that there is no visible erosion. The area has a heavy rainy season so erosion should be a definite effect of nature.

4:Rio Tinto

Spain

The Rio Tinto runs from the Sierra Moreno Mountains down to the Gulf of Cádiz in Huelva, Spain. Rio Tinto translates into red river and this is exactly how the river appears. High levels of iron in the water cause the red coloring of the river. The river has been mined for copper, gold and silver from ancient times, and continues as of today. The Rio Tinto has the oldest mines in the world, which are believed to be the fabled King Solomon’s mines. Due to all the mining, the river has a high acidic content and is home to organisms that survive in extreme conditions. This has led to scientific study of the river, used in the study of the underground lakes of Mars and Jupiter. The link to outer space seems appropriate, as the Rio Tinto area has an alien lunar like landscape. The mining has created walls of terraced rock that has formed a natural amphitheater.

3:Fly Geyser Reno

Nevada

Fly Geyser was accidentally created in 1916 while drilling a well for water, though they didn’t start forming until 1960. The spot picked had an unknown geothermal area. The heated water eventually found a weak spot in the well and pushed itself to the surface. The minerals started building up to create a mini volcano of about 5 ft. tall, with layers of terraces. The terraces have different colors from the minerals in the water and the geothermal water has found more weak spots to create two more geysers nearby. The water spouts continuously and fills holes and hollows in the terraces, to give the area a surreal look. Water where there isn’t much water to begin with has attracted swans, ducks, and other animals to the area. Fish also swim through the ponds, introduced by an unknown human dropping the eggs in the water.

2:Vale Da Lua

Brazil

Vale Da Lua is a stone basin that has been carved out by the San Miguel River. The name translates to valley of the moon and was given that name because the erosion of the rocks by the river has left them smooth, and in shades of gray similar to the look of the moon. The valley has some of the oldest rock formations in the world, with an estimated age of 1.8 billion years old. The river has created caves, grottoes, waterfalls and bizarre rock formations, to form a labyrinth in the narrow canyon walls. Seen from space, the area is the most luminous on earth. Quartz and the smoothness of the rocks cause the glow. The surrounding forest is abundant with wildlife and lays claim to many varieties of orchids. The river has made the area a work in progress, as it continues to erode and change the landscape.

1:Caño Cristales

Colombia

Caño Cristales is a river located in the Serrania de la Macarena Mountains. The area where the river is found is so remote that you can only get there by horse, donkey, or on foot. Caño Cristales is filled with waterfalls, rapids, wells and hollows, with water so clear you can see all the way to the bottom. During most of the year the river seems like any other, with the water coursing over green algae rocks. Then during the period of time between the wet season and the dry season – which happens between September–November – the river transforms, becoming a river of color. The algae in the water produce a riot of color; red, blue, green, black and yellow line the river. This river has no fish because of the complexity of the channels. Caño Cristales has been called “The River of Five Colors”, “The Liquid Rainbow” and “The River That Ran Away From Paradise” and it’s honestly easy to see why.

Source: listverse.com

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The World’s Most Fascinating Travel Destination

When talking about the landscapes of the Middle East, people may think of spellbinding landscapes with unrivalled seas of sand dunes and palm-fringed lakes in desert. Travelers can walk along Turkey’s grand coastline, visit urbane metropolis of Istanbul, trek on camels in the deserts of Iran and Turkmenistan, or switch to hiking when entering the more mountainous countries. However, the region discerns travelers as it is place where bridges between ancient and modern civilization are evident. Some of the most significant civilizations of antiquity rose and fell. The region is also the birthplace of some monotheistic religions including Christianity and Judaism. Therefore, it is understandable that the Middle East is teeming with cultural, religious, and historic treasures. Let’s explore this fascinating travel destination.

Hail City has over thirty gardens and 25 landscaped areas. Its cultural centre includes a permanent exhibition center, halls for meetings and lectures, and a number of halls for artistic exhibitions.

Hail City, Saudi Arabia

The Empty Quarter desert is located in the southern region of Saudi Arabia. The almost moistureless deset covers most of southern Saudi Arabia.

Pilgrims in prayer around the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

A beautiful sunset at the Nile River.

The Nile is famous as the longest river in the world.

Dubai has a rich collection of buildings of various architectural styles.

Hagia Sophia is a great architectural beauty.

The Sheikh Zayed Mosque reflects the spirit of Island, a region of peace, tolerance and education.

Petra is the most valuable treasure of Jordan. It is a unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans.

Source: http://travel.ezine9.com/

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How Many Languages Are There in the World?

Answer 1:There are roughly 6,500 spoken languages in the world today. However, about 2,000 of those languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers.

The most popular language in the world is Mandarin Chinese. There are 1,213,000,000 people in the world that speak that language. You might also like our list of the most widely spoken languages in the world.

Source: How Many Spoken Languages — Infoplease.com

Answer 2:One of the challenges we face as a language solutions provider is covering demand for the languages that our clients request on a daily basis. So how many languages are there in the World and how do we go about providing translation and interpreting in all of them….?

The invaluable Ethnologue quotes 6909 living languages, that’s one language for every 862,000 people on Earth. Let’s look at some more figures from Ethnologue’s database.

Europe, with ¼ of the World’s population has only 234 languages spoken on a daily basis.

Although English does well as the World’s business language-at least for the time being- it is only 3rd in the league table of native speakers of a first language, with 328M, only 1m behind Spanish but a long way from the 845M Mandarin speakers.

94% of languages are spoken by only 6% of the World’s population, which tells us that there are hundreds of languages with just a few thousand [or hundred] speakers.

Many of these languages would be classified by some as dialects i.e. languages that have evolved from but are still quite closely related to another. This definition, of course, falls down very rapidly as most Western European languages can trace their roots to Latin but would not normally be described as dialects. Some of the African and Caribbean Patois are still seen as dialects, as was Ulster-Scots until fairly recently when it was recognised as a language. http://www.ulsterscotsagency.com/

The most famous phrase “a language is a dialect with an army and a navy” is wrongly attributed to Yiddish scholar Max Weinreich, who was probably quoting an anonymous teacher from New York, but it is a neat way to make the definition.

So how many of these languages are regularly translated by Applied Language? Well, it’s a lot but not quite 6909…….we reckon that about 200 languages are translated regularly by our global offices into documents, websites, brochures and anything else you can imagine. The range of languages required by our interpreting team is rather smaller at about 100.

The difference is no mystery; companies that translate their promotional material may be selling into every part of the globe and therefore their need is very broad whilst a hospital in Manchester, for example, will only have to deal with the resident non-native speakers and unwell tourists that come through its doors. Although the interpreting requirement is significant, it rarely exceeds 100 different languages.

Some of the most difficult requests are for languages that unfortunately don’t exist; enquiries for “Indian” or “Eastern European” do pop up occasionally. Similarly, “African” or “South American” can have us scratching our heads.

As a final thought for those of you currently learning another language you might be slightly discouraged by a report from Swarthmore College linguist K. David Harrison who predicts that 90% of the World’s languages will be extinct by 2050. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4387421/

This might make finding translators a little easier, but would surely make our World a rather less interesting place?
Source:http://www.translationblog.co.uk/

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